Gay-friendly candidate in final vote for French President
Posted on April 23, 2007
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The first round of the elections for President of France has narrowed the field down to gay-friendly Segolene Royal and frontrunner Nicolas Sarkozy.
The 53-year-old Ms Royal is the socialist party candidate for the presidency and would become France’s first woman president if elected. Her manifesto demands equal rights for same-sex couples, paving the way for future anti-discrimination legislation should the French population elect her.
In 2000, as the Minister of the Family and Children, Ms Royal spoke out against anti-gay bullying in schools. “School must be a place of tolerance, of welcome. Too many young people face teasing, social exclusion because of their sexual orientation. Some consider drugs, suicide attempts. It is time to stand up to this hostility shown towards homosexuality,” she said.
Royal has indicated that she is in favour of same-sex couples adopting.
In 2002, Ms Royal introduced a law that gave legal recognition to families with same-sex parents.
Speaking to the LGBT publication Tetu in 2006, she said she is in favour of same-sex marriage, something which is currently banned under President Jacques Chirac’s conservative ruling UMP party.
“Opening up marriage to same-sex couples is needed in the name of equality, visibility and respect. It is essential that everybody has equal rights and dignities and the chance to express themselves freely,” she said.
In contrast, Nicholas Sarkozy, the candidate for the UMP, said in a TV debate earlier this year that he is opposed to any form of gay marriage.
Speaking to La Liberation newspaper earlier this month Mr Sarkozy, who was until last month the French Interior Minister, criticised the Roman Catholic church’s attitude towards gays.
“I was born heterosexual. I have never questioned myself about the choice of my sexuality. That is why the church’s position, which consists of saying “Homosexuality is a sin,” is shocking,” he told the newspaper.
“One doesn’t choose one’s identity. One has the identity that one has.”
Mr Sarkozy also shared his opinions on the nature of sexuality: “Not everything depends on nurture, but that part could be nature. In what proportion? I am not a scientist.
Despite his criticism of the Roman Catholic church, Mr Sarkozy has made clear his own opposition to gay marriage. He has promised new adoption rights for gay couples and improved financial arrangements.
Polling carried out in June 2006 suggests that the French population might support Royal’s policies on gay rights.
The Ipsos survey shows that 62% support gay marriage, while 37% were opposed.
When asked whether same-sex couples should be allowed to adopt children, the survey found more people to be in opposition (55%) than in support (44%).
Source: Pink News UK
France’s top appeals court finds same-sex marriage is invalid
Posted on March 13, 2007
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France’s top appeals court ruled same-sex marriage to be invalid, confirming a regional tribunal’s decision to overturn the country’s only such union.
Stephane Charpin and Bertrand Charpentier were united on June 5, 2004, by Noel Mamere, the deputy-mayor of a town near Bordeaux and the then leader of France’s Green Party. A Bordeaux court rejected the marriage a month later, ruling that in French law a marriage can be between a man and a woman only. The city’s appeals court confirmed that ruling in April 2005. Read more….
Source: Bloomberg
French religious leaders assail same-sex unions
Posted on February 13, 2007
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Leaders of various faiths in France have signed a statement which speaks out against same-sex unions, and calls the institution of marriage a fundamental reference point for humanity.
The statement, dated Feb. 6, is signed by Christian, Muslim and Jewish leaders from Lyon. Cardinal Philippe Barbarin, archbishop of Lyon, is a signatory. The statement says: “The question is to know today if the law can authorize the marriage of two persons of the same sex. “It is not a question of a simple debate in society, but of a greater choice, unprecedented in the history of humanity. It is not a gift that should be given to future generations.”
The signatories of the statement underline that “there are already enough sufferings occasioned by the fragility of family ties, not to speak of the illnesses that affect our loved ones and the mourning. This fragility is due for many to the difficulty adults have in helping young people build their lives.” Read more….
Source: Zenit News Services
First same-sex ’marriage’ officially recorded in Jerusalem
Posted on February 7, 2007
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In November, Israel’s highest court ruled that same-sex “marriages” that were legally performed in other countries will be now included in Israel’s records. A spokesman for Concerned Women for America (CWA), the United States’ largest public policy women’s organization, calls this a “frightening” development.
Matt Barber, the CWA’s cultural issues policy director, is reacting strongly to the news that two men who were “married” in Canada over the summer of 2004 have moved back to Israel and had their union recorded through the Interior Ministry’s Population Registry.
Source: Journal Chrétien
Posted on December 15, 2006
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